Page 97 of Alpha Gray

Three days.

“You were fucking great today,” I murmur, leaning sideways against the wall beside her. She cranes her body toward mine, sliding her arm up on the wall to rest her head upon it. She bends her elbow over her head, fiddling with her ponytail.

“You think?” Her eyes are filled with so much excitement, such hope.

I nod. “Keep it up and you’re in, babe.”

It looks like she’s trying to contain her glee, but it spills over, Fallon’s face splitting into a gorgeous smile.

“Ah, man. I can’t wait!”

I grin. “Me neither.”

I hear the faint sound of footsteps in the hallway and immediately push off of the wall, peering around cautiously. It’s a false alarm; there’s no one to be seen.

When I return my gaze to Fallon, she’s rolling her eyes. “Jeez, you’re jumpy.”

“Yeah,” I grumble. “Think I need something to take the edge off…” I reach out, grabbing for her waist, but Fallon giggles and hops away.

“Cool it, mister,” she says, holding up a finger in warning. “I’ve got three more days left to focus.”

I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

Fallon smirks, pushing away from the wall and looking around the hallway. “Maybe. I’d better get going.”

She starts to turn, then stops, gazing back at me.

“Hey Gray?”

“Hm?” I ask.

“When it comes to the finals for the squad, you’re going off of merit, right? I don’t want to make it just because of…” she gestures between us. “This.”

I shake my head. “You don’t have to worry about that, I won’t even be part of the decision. Me and the guys decided long ago that I’d sit out when it comes to evaluating you.”

Fallon presses her lips together, nodding. “Good.”

She turns on a heel and I reach out to land another little slap on her ass before she scurries away. Then she darts me that cute little side-eyed glance over her shoulder that I’ve become so accustomed to, tossing me a wink.

Fuck.

Three. More. Days.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Fallon

It might seem like overkill for my friends and I to sneak in extra training after the alphas work us so hard all day, but our nighttime sessions have quickly become my favorite ritual. As wolf shifters, we already have a strong drive to stick close with one another, be part of a pack, and the bonding that occurs when you spend an extended amount of time with the same people is no different. It’s like my friends and I have formed our own little pack within the pack, learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses, having one another’s backs.

I feel a tinge of sadness when Boyd suggests we call it a night on Friday evening, the realization sinking in that this is our little group’s last after-hours session together. By this time tomorrow, we’ll know whether we’ve made the squad- and I’m so hopeful that we’ll all make it, together.

It seems like the others must have similar sentiments, because we take a little longer to gather together, linger more than usual. Casey joined us tonight to offer a few last-minute pointers, but she hangs back for a few moments, giving the five of us our space as she loiters on the periphery, tediously brushing the dirt off of her clothes.

The five of us exchange somber glances, like nobody can find the words to express our shared feelings of anxiety and hopefulness. Boyd finally breaks the silence, slipping one of his arms around my shoulders and the other around Shay’s.

“Guess this is it,” he says simply, breathing a heavy sigh. “Good luck tomorrow, guys.”

Davis nods. “We’re all gonna make it, I just know it. We’ve worked hard, we’ve stuck together… we’ve done everything right.”

---